Summary
- The proposed register covers installations with at least 0.5MW of installed IT power.
- Operators must report agreements, locations, capacities, schedules and expected consumption.
- The legislation is proposed for April 2027, with initial notifications due in June.
The Finnish government has proposed mandatory registration for data centres with at least 0.5MW of installed IT power, creating a national record of planned computing capacity and the demands it could place on electricity and water supplies.
Legislation submitted to Parliament on 29 October would require developers and operators to disclose projects at defined stages, beginning with their electricity connection arrangements. The National Emergency Supply Agency (NESA) would maintain the register, supervise compliance and produce regular public assessments of data centre activity.
The reporting threshold would apply to new and existing installations. Buildings forming part of a single data centre operation, including known expansions, would be counted together when calculating installed IT power. Facilities below 0.5MW could choose to register voluntarily.
An operator would have to notify NESA within 30 days of concluding an electricity network connection agreement and, in any event, before construction starts. The report would identify ownership, location, intended use, capacity, project schedule and electricity and water consumption. Significant changes would trigger updated information.
The capacity threshold concerns power installed for computing equipment rather than total demand at the electricity meter. Cooling, power conversion, lighting and other auxiliary systems consume additional electricity, so two facilities with the same IT capacity may create different loads on the network.
Connections trigger earlier visibility
Minister of Economic Affairs Sakari Puisto said better information is needed to assess the effects of planned facilities on Finland’s electricity system and prices. A large pipeline of possible projects does not establish how much power will be consumed in any one year: developments can be deferred, reduced, expanded or built in stages.
The connection agreement is consequently an important reporting point. It can indicate that a developer has advanced beyond general land searches, even though a connection agreement alone does not mean the required network infrastructure has been constructed or that computing equipment is operating.
The proposed register would allow authorities to distinguish projects with a connection agreement from facilities under construction and those already running. Updating reported schedules would help identify when demand might become operational, while location details would improve the picture of regional electricity requirements.
Data centres can concentrate substantial electrical load at individual sites. Their construction may require additional transformers, substations, transmission or distribution equipment, and several years of network development. The precise work depends on the location, existing network capacity and intended operating profile.
Water reporting adds another dimension to the proposed record. Consumption depends on cooling technology and operating conditions; it cannot be inferred from IT megawatts alone. Collecting both quantities would make the national picture more useful, even though the register would not replace project-level environmental assessment.
No additional permit
Registration would be an information obligation, not a new development approval. NESA would not receive the power to accept or reject investments, grant operating permission or impose project conditions simply because an operator submitted the required notification. Planning, environmental and grid connection procedures would continue through their existing authorities.
NESA could require a company to correct a failure to register, backed by a conditional fine. A separate decree would establish notification fees to meet the cost of supervision and maintaining the system. The agency would also publish a quarterly national overview based on its collected information.
The government proposes that the law enter into force on 1 April 2027. Operators already running covered facilities, building them or holding electricity connection agreements would have until 30 June 2027 to make their initial notifications. The first public overview is scheduled for publication by 30 September 2027.
The distinction between planned and operating capacity is particularly important when national investment figures are compared with electricity forecasts. A project’s announced ultimate size may exceed the first phase that is ever commissioned. Conversely, extensions can increase the load on an established site without creating an entirely new facility.
Parliament must consider the proposal before the timetable can take effect. If enacted, the register would provide an ongoing account of Finland’s developing data centre estate, based on comparable notifications rather than irregular public disclosures from individual developers.
The requirement to report significant changes is designed to keep the register current after the initial notification. Where a development is divided into phases, updated schedules and capacity figures could help authorities identify whether expected demand has shifted without having to infer progress from construction activity alone.
